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official

/əˈfɪʃəl/
adjectivenoun

OFFICIAL means authorized by an authority or connected with a formal office; it scores 16 points in Scrabble.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Adjective 4 meanings

  1. Of or about an office or public trust.

    “official duties”

  2. Derived from the proper office or officer, or the appropriate authority; made or communicated by authority

    “an official statement or report”

  3. Approved by authority; authorized.

    “The Official Strategy Guide”

  4. Sanctioned by the pharmacopoeia; appointed to be used in medicine; officinal.

    “an official drug or preparation”

Noun 1 meaning

  1. An office holder, a person holding an official position in government, sports, or other organization.

    “Officials in the Firefly administration assure the Sylvanians they don't want war either.”

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

From Middle English official, from Old French official, from Latin officiālis, from Latin officium (“duty, service”), by surface analysis, office + -ial.

Similar and opposite words

Similar
approvedrecognizedsanctioneddecreed
Opposite
unofficial

OFFICIAL works as both a noun and an adjective. As a noun, it names a person who holds a position in government, sports, or another organization; as an adjective, it describes something authorized or tied to an office. Its repeated F makes the spelling distinctive, while the ending belongs to a familiar cluster of words such as SOCIAL and SPECIAL.

OFFICIAL at a glance

  • OFFICIAL has eight letters and uses the tile pattern O-F-F-I-C-I-A-L.
  • Its Scrabble face-value total is 16, with the two F tiles contributing eight points together.
  • OFFICIAL has no anagrams or one-letter neighbors.
  • Words sharing its final -IAL sound include SOCIAL, SPECIAL, MATERIAL, and TRIAL.

What does official mean?

OFFICIAL has two closely related uses: it can name an officeholder, or describe something authorized by the proper authority. An official notice, for example, carries institutional approval; an official can also be a person acting in a public or organizational role.

The noun points to a person; the adjective points to status, approval, or connection with an office. That distinction keeps the word precise: a statement from a spokesperson is not automatically official unless the organization has authorized it. OFFICIAL is common in ordinary English, not merely a specialist or game-only entry.

How many points is OFFICIAL in Scrabble?

OFFICIAL scores 16 points before board bonuses. O, both I tiles, A, and L are worth one each; C is worth three, and the two F tiles are worth four each. Those paired Fs account for half the base score, so placing one over a premium square changes the play's value most.

A double- or triple-letter square changes a tile's contribution, while a word multiplier applies after letter bonuses. Keep those bonuses separate when totaling the face value. OFFICIAL has no one-letter neighbor, so an opponent cannot make a new word by changing just one of its tiles.

OFFICIAL has 12 listed rhymes ending in the same -IAL sound. SOCIAL and SPECIAL are familiar matches; FINANCIAL, COMMERCIAL, and INDUSTRIAL show how the sound appears in longer words. These are sound matches, not anagrams: none rearranges OFFICIAL's letters into another word.

Rhymes with official

All rhymes

Questions people ask

Why does OFFICIAL score 16 points in Scrabble?
OFFICIAL scores 16 points because its two F tiles are worth four each, C is worth three, and O, both I tiles, A, and L are worth one each. The F pair supplies half of the face-value total, before any board-square bonuses.
Can OFFICIAL be rearranged into another word?
No anagrams are listed for OFFICIAL. Its letters do not rearrange into another playable word in the checked word lists, and the word also has no one-letter neighbors. The related words SOCIAL and SPECIAL rhyme with it, but they use different letters.
What words rhyme with OFFICIAL?
SOCIAL and SPECIAL are familiar rhymes for OFFICIAL. Other listed matches include FINANCIAL, POTENTIAL, MATERIAL, COMMERCIAL, TRIAL, INITIAL, INDUSTRIAL, ESSENTIAL, PRESIDENTIAL, and MEMORIAL. They share the final -IAL sound, though their spellings and syllable counts vary.

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